13th Career Victory at BMW Ladies Championship
First Win in Nearly Five Years Since November 2020
Perfect Comeback at Home, Breaking Free from a Prolonged Slump
Kim Se-young's 'red pants magic' worked once again.
On October 19, at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province (par 72, 6,785 yards), Kim Se-young recorded six birdies and one bogey in the fourth round of the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA Tour (total prize money of 2.3 million dollars). She shot a 5-under-par 67, finishing with a final total of 24-under-par 264, beating Nasa Hataoka of Japan (20-under-par 268) by four strokes.
This victory marks Kim Se-young's 13th career win and her first in about five years since the Pelican Championship in November 2020. She achieved a wire-to-wire victory, never relinquishing the lead throughout the four days. She received a winner's prize of 345,000 dollars (approximately 490 million won). This is the sixth LPGA Tour win by a Korean player this year. Korean golfers have shown strength in this tournament, with Jang Ha-na winning the inaugural event in 2019 and Ko Jin-young taking the title in 2021.
Se-Young Kim is smiling while holding the trophy right after winning the BMW Ladies Championship. Photo by BMW Ladies Championship Organizing Committee
Kim Se-young has been a leading figure during the golden era of Korean women's golf. After debuting on the LPGA Tour in 2015, she won three tournaments in her rookie season, earning the Rookie of the Year title. She continued her success with two wins in 2016 and one win each in 2017 and 2018. At the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in July 2018, she set new records for the lowest 72-hole score and most strokes under par in LPGA Tour history, finishing at 31-under-par 257. In 2019, she won three more tournaments, and in 2020, she claimed her first major title at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, earning Player of the Year honors.
However, since 2021, Kim Se-young faced a slump. For the first time since joining the LPGA Tour, she finished a season without a win. In 2023, her performance declined further, making the top 10 only twice in 22 tournaments, marking her poorest season since moving to the United States. Kim Se-young reflected, "I think I became complacent with my past achievements, which led to poor results. It was a difficult period."
Starting in 2024, she began to show signs of resurgence. Although she did not win, she finished runner-up once and placed third three times, consistently contending for titles. Before her victory this year, she had already made the top 10 seven times, demonstrating remarkable consistency. Finally, in Haenam, known as the 'land's end village,' she broke free from her long winless streak.
On this day, Kim Se-young wore her trademark red pants and celebrated the long-awaited victory. She has often created dramatic moments by wearing red pants in the final rounds, earning her the nickname 'the magician in red pants.' Born in Yeongam-gun, near Haenam, the win was even more meaningful as she triumphed in front of her family and relatives.
Kim Se-young beamed, "I've always wanted to win in front of my family. I'm really happy to have achieved that this time. I'm glad I could bring positive energy to Korean fans." She added with a laugh, "I thought I wouldn't wear red pants again if I didn't win today, but now I think I'll have to keep wearing them. I want to keep performing well and quickly climb up the world rankings."
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